Electrical operation of valves for internal combustion engines



Aug. 20, 1968 J. w. NORTHRUF' ELECTRICAL OPERATION OF VALVES FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 14, 1966 JAMES W. NORTH RUP INVENTOR.

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Wax ENT United States Patent 3,397,681 ELECTRICAL OPERATION OF VALVES FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES James W. Northrup, 841 Azalea Way, Vacaville, Calif. 95688 Filed Nov. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 594,065 7 3 Claims. (Cl. 123-90) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of permanent horseshoe magnets are mounted on the head of an internal combustion engine near the stem of each valve. The respective end portions of an electromagnet extend into the air gaps of the horseshoe magnets. A bell crank lever mounted on the engine head connects the electromagnet to the valve stem. The electromagnet is connected to a timer, driven bv the engine, which alternately reverses the direction of current and polarity of the electromagnet. The electromagnet is thus alternately raised and lowered by magnetic attraction and repulsion which opens and closes the valve.

Background the invention The present invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to electrically operated valves therefor.

The prior art discloses the use of electrically operated valves for internal combustion engines but these devices, generally, have not proved satisfactory for one or more of the following reasons. The electrical operation of the valve was not fast enough or did not contain or generate sufficient potential energy to completely open or close the valve at engine top speed or that the application of electric operation of the valves required major design modification of engine components.

Applicant overcomes the above objections by utilizing magnetic attraction and repulsion forces of an electromagnet and permanent magnets to open and close the valves. Timing means synchronized with the engine changes the direction of current to the electromagnet to fully open and close the valves in proper sequence.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides permanent horseshoe magnets, mounted on the engine adjacent the outwardly projecting valve stems, for attracting and repulsing an electromagnet positioned therebetween in response to the change in polarity of the electromagnet. A rocker arm, interconnecting the valves with respective electromagnets, opens and closes the valves in response to electrical energy applied to the electromagnet through a timing device driven by the engine crank shaft.

The objects are to provide an electrical valve operation applicable to most conventional combustion engines requiring fewer parts by the elimination of a mechanical connection between the drive shaft and the valves and resulting spring resonance, valve train inertia and, to a large extent, the vibration resulting therefrom reducing the likelihood of engine failure. A plurality of valve timing means permits the engine to operate at peak efficiency and permits greater engine braking efficiency.

Brief d scripti n of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top view of one cylinder position of an internal combustion engine and its associated exhaust and intake valves and diagrammatically illustrating a timing means and valve operating circuit;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the engine fragment of FIG. 1; and,

FIGURES 3 and 4 are fragmentary vertical cross-sec- 3,397,681 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 tional views taken substantially along the respective lines 33 and 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Description f the preferred embodiment The reference numeral indicates a fragment of an internal combustion engine having a block 12 and a head 14. The block 12 is provided with a cylinder 16 surrounded by a water jacket or coolant area 18. A piston 20 is vertically reciprocated in the cylinder 16 by "a piston rod 22 connected with a crank shaft, not shown. The upper end of the cylinder, as viewed in FIG. 3, forms a compression chamber 23. The head 14 is removably connected to the engine block 12 by bolts 24 with a head gasket 26 interposed therebetween. The upper surface of the head is provided with a recess 28 which threadedly receives a spark plug 30 in turn connected with a conventional distributor, not shown. The head is further provided with a fuel intake opening 32 comunicating 'with a fuel intake manifold 34 and an intake valve opening 36 communicating with the combustion chamber 23. The head is similarly provided with a burnt gases exhaust opening 38 communicating with an exhaust manifold 40 and an exhaust valve opening 42 communicating with the combustion chamber 23. Intake and exhaust valves 44- and 46, having valve stems 45 and 47, respectively, are respectively positioned in the head for opening and closing the valve intake and exhaust openings 36 and 42. The above simplified description is conventional with internal combustion engines and is set forth to show the relationship of its components to the invention.

The numerals and 52 indicate the electrical and mechanical means required for operating the intake and exhaust valves, respectively. Similarly the numerals 54 and 56, respectively, indicate an example of timing means required for operating the means 50 and 52. Since the valve operating means 50 and its timer 54 is substantially identical with the valve operating means 52 and its timer 56 only the means 50 and timer 54 will be described in detail in the interest of brevity.

A pair of permanent horseshoe magnets 60 and 60A are mounted in spaced-apart cooperative aligned relation with the air gap of the respective magnets disposed vertically. As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the north pole N of the permanent magnet 60 is disposed upwardly opposite its downwardly disposed south pole S while the permanent magnet 60A has its south pole S disposed upwardly opposite its downwardly disposed north pole N. An electromagnet E, comprising a bar 62 of soft metal or laminated silicone steel having a plurality of windings of wire 64 therearound, intermediate its ends, is horizontally disposed between the permanent magnets 60 and 60A with the respective end portions of the bar 62 projecting into the air gaps formed by the respective north and south poles of the permanent magnets. For the purpose of clarity one end or pole of the bar 62 is designated as P1 while the other end or pole is denoted by P2 to distinguish between the changeable polarity of the electromagnet E.

A pair of ears 63 are connected to the head 14 in upstanding parallel spaced-apart relation for journalling a rocker arm means 65. The rocker arm means includes a shaft 66 journaled at its respective ends by the ears 63 for horizontal rotative movement about its longitudinal axis. Adjacent the ears 63 a pair of arms 68 are connected, at one end, respectively, to the shaft 66 and are pivotally connected at their other ends, by screws 67, to the end surface of the electromagnet poles P1 and P2, respectively. A lever 70 is connected at one end to the shaft 66 intermediate its ends, while its other end is provided with an arcuate slot or opening 72 which cooperatively engages a pin 74 adjustably connected to the valve stem 47 by a bushing and set screw 76.

The timing means 54 and 56 are shown separately but may be'arranged in superposed relation to be driven by the same shaft. The numeral 80 designates a timer driving shaft driven by the engine crank shaft, not shown. The timer shaft 80 rotates a rotor 82, mounted thereon, in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 1). One end of the electromagnet wiring 64 is connected to an inner endless conductor ring 84 concentrically surrounding the shaft 80 below the rotor 82, as viewed in FIG. 4, by a wire 86. The other end of the electromagnet wiring 64 is connected to a similar outer endless conductor ring 88 by a wire 90. A battery B, forming a source of electrical energy, is connected to an actuator ring 92 through a control switch 94. 'A second actuator ring 96 is connected to ground. As shown in FIG. 1, the actuator rings 92 and 96 terminate short of forming endless rings for the reasons presently apparent.

As shown in FIG. 1, the actuator ring 92, in the first quadrant is off-set inwardly to lie in the circular path of the other actuator ring 96, as at 92A. The other actuator ring 96 is ofi-set outwardly, in the same quadrant, to lie in the circular path of the inwardly ofi-set portion of the ring 92, as at 96A.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, contacts 100 and 102, on the rotor 82, conduct electrical current between the outermost paths of the actuator rings and the conductor ring 84. A second pair of conductors 104 and 106, carried by the rotor 82, conduct current from the innermost paths of the actuator rings to the other endless conductor 88.

Operation In operation the components are installed on the engine as described hereinabove. Assume that the spark plug 30 has exploded the mixture in the compression chamber 23 and the piston is moving downwardly from fire position. In this position direct current from the battery B and the actuator ring 92 flows through the rotor contacts 102 and 100 to the endless ring 84 and over the wire 86 through the electromagnet winding 64 and back to ground over the wire 90, endless ring 88 and rotor contacts 104 and 106 and actuator ring 96. Current flowing in this direction through the electromagnet E forms a north pole for the electromagnet end P1 which is attracted by the south pole S of the permanent magnet 60 while the other end P2, of the electromagnet, is a south pole and is attracted by the north pole N of the permanent magnet 60A. When the piston reaches the end of its downward firing stroke, the rotor 82 will be moved, in the direction of the arrow, to the off-set positions of the actuator rings and in the first quadrant, as shown by dotted lines (FIG. 1). Current from the battery B to the electromagnet is then reversed so that it flows from the actuator ring quadrant one arc 92A through the rotor contacts 106 and 104 to the endless ring 88 and to the electromagnet wiring 64 over the wire 90 and back to ground over the wire 86, endless ring 84, rotor contacts 100 and 102 to the first quadrant arc 96A of the actuator ring 96. This change of direction of the current reverses the polarity of the electromagnet B so that its pole P1 becomes a south pole and is attracted by the north pole N of the permanent magnet 60 while its other end P2 becomes a north pole and is attracted by the south pole S of the permanent magnet 60A. The south pole S of the magnet 60 and the north pole N of the magnet 60A thus repel the like poles of the electromagnet so that the electromagnet is quickly positioned upwardly, as shown by dotted lines (FIG. 3). This pivots the rockker arm 65 and opens the valve 46 to exhaust position so that the piston, in its return or exhaust movement, exhausts burned gases through the exhaust port 38. When the piston has reached the limit of its exhaust movement, the rotor 82 will be moved to the fourth quadrant wherein the current is then again reversed to the first described direction flow so that the electromagnet E will be positioned downwardly, as shown in solid lines, thus closing the exhaust valve. Simultaneously the rotor of the timing means 56 is moved to the fourth quadrant and an identical change of circuit direction functions to actuate the electromagnet of the valve operating means 52 for opening the intake valve 44 during the intake stroke of the piston.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a cylinder and a reciprocating piston driving a crank shaft and a timer shaft therein, and defining a combustion chamber at one end of the cylinder and having a pair of valves provided with outwardly projecting valve stems for opening and closing intake and exhaust ports communicating with the combustion chamber, a magnetic valve operating means connected with said valve stems, timing means interconnecting a source of electrical energy with said magnetic valve operating means, wherein said magnetic valve operating means comprises, a pair of permanent horseshoe magnets disposed in cooperative spacedapart alignment adjacent one said valve stem, an electromagnet positioned between said permanent magnets with the. respective ends of said electromagnet projecting into the air gaps of said horseshoe magnets, and rocker arm means connecting said electromagnet to said one valve stem for longitudinally reciprocating said one valve stem inresponse to changes in the direction of current through said electromagnet.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in which the rocker arm means comprises a pair of outstanding ears mounted in spaced-apart relation on said engine, a shaft extending between and journaled at its respective end portions by said ears, a pair of arms connected at one end to said shaft and pivotally connected at their other end portions to the respective ends of said electromagnet, and a lever connected at one end to said shaft opposite said arms and pivotally connected at its other end portion to said one valve stem.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 in which said timing means comprises, inner and outer endless conductor rings surrounding said timing shaft, and inner and outer actuator rings surrounding said conductor rings, a rotor connected with said timer shaft and contacting said conductor rings and said actuator rings, a cooperative portion of the circular path of each said actuator ring being interrupted and arranged in laterally oif-set relation to lie in the circular path of the other said actuator ring for reversing the direction of current through said conductor rings, and wiring connecting said electromagnet with said conductor rings.

- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,038,598 9/1912 Kellum 123-90 1,220,011 3/1917 Scognamillo 123-41 1,331,256 2/1920 Harrigan 123-90 1,471,861 10/ 1923 Perrault 123-90 1,474,842 11/ 1923 Misuraca 123-90 1,632,531 6/1927 Bland.

AL LAWRENCE SMITH, Primary Examiner. 

